The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Lopao’o Natanielu Mua, is correct. He cannot please everyone all the time.
But then someone should remind him that he is not occupying that office for the sake of pleasing people, he is there to do the right thing by all the people of this country, not just a few. All the time.

On Thursday last week, a major development in the deaths of two babies who died after they were administered the M.M.R. vaccine at Safotu, Savai’i, emerged.
After a few weeks of several investigations by different officials – including health experts from outside of Samoa - the Police and the Attorney General’s Office took the first step in what we anticipate will be one of many to be taken in the pursuit for justice over the deaths.

And so all is well that ends well.
With Samoa having once again successfully hosted the Pacific Island Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting last week, the Ministers and their high level delegations are making their way back to their home countries with many wonderful memories.

It has taken a while but alas it is finally happening. Better late than never.
Today, we believe the Government, Police, Office of the Attorney General, Australia Federal Police and everybody else who played a role in setting up Samoa’s Sex Offender’s Registry must be commended.

Was it a coincidence? That on the eve of the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Pacific Island Forum Countries – including New Zealand and Australia –in Apia and yet the only thing on the lips of people here is “China Ready”?

Here’s what we think. Sometimes laws and regulations are absolutely necessary to knock some common sense into some people and force them to do the right thing.
The Government’s decision to install parking meters is one of those issues where we find that while it is sad to see a rule is needed to monitor certain behaviour, we are relieved something is finally being done about it.

Here’s the good news. Give Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa’ilele Malielegaoi some credit. He and his administration appear to be walking the talk about transparency, accountability and good governance. At last.
We are talking about the issue of Samoa’s growing foreign debt by the way.

Well there you have it. As if the people of this country needed confirmation of the sorry state of the affairs in the management of the health sector, the report by the Commission of Inquiry appointed by Cabinet to review the proposed merger between the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) and the National Health Services (N.H.S.) removes all doubt (read story front page of Samoa Observer Friday 03 August 2018).

We keep seeing the idea pop up now and then. After every so often, I think when people have nothing else to talk about, they remember those brilliant Pacific Island rugby players and all of a sudden they revive the idea of a Super rugby team for the Pacific.

Globalisation is real and Samoa is not immune from the impact, both positive and negative. The positive side is that the world has been reduced to the size of a global village so that technology and innovation has made certain things a lot easier.

We know this much cannot be denied. Times are tough. Physically, mentally, financially, spiritually and socially. And this is not confined to Samoa.
It’s the same thing happening all over the world, to the smallest and the biggest of countries.

Last week, the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Papali’i Niko Lee Hang, was quite firm in his opposition to plans by the Samoa Shipping Corporation to invest in a hotel-type accommodation at Mulifanua.

We know this much. The world of heavyweight boxing is lucrative and dirty business both in and outside of the ring. And wherever millions and millions of dollars are at stake, people don’t care what they do to get it and how they do it.

The Government and the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, have got a legitimate point about the need to address the growing violence attributed to easy access to cheap and locally made spirits. We’ve seen in the recent past how destructive and deadly such spirits can become when they are consumed by the wrong people under all sorts of circumstances.

On Wednesday last week, one of the most interesting developments in the local political sphere in recent memory emerged.
It happened when the news broke that a new political party had been formed and registered with the Office of the Electoral Commissioner.

This is it. The moment Lupesoliai La’auliolemalietoa Joseph Parker and his most ardent supporters have been waiting for has arrived.
After the bitter disappointment of losing the W.B.O. title to Anthony Joshua earlier this year, Samoa’s very own Parker is back under the spotlight, returning to the ring in London tomorrow for what will be a career defining fight against another big, brash Brit.

It’s such a sad reality that in Samoa today, we see so much crime and evil.
Although this is not confined to Samoa as we see it in other places around the world, the truth is that on a daily basis, we see the endless struggle between good and bad.

The irony is simply hard to ignore. On the front page of last Sunday’s Samoa Observer was a story titled “Cabinet approves salary increases for Judges.”
As the headline reveals, a Cabinet paper received by the Samoa Observer confirmed that a proposal by the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration to raise the salaries of Justices in the Supreme Court, Judges of the District Court and the Land and Titles Court had been given the nod.

Dear Editor
Will metered parking benefit Samoa and the government in the long run or will it be another monetary burden for the government?
If the meters themselves can regulate their own activities then maybe, yes, they can be a source of income.

“Parking meters is the way of the future. That’s clearly the message from the Government after several parking meters were installed in different parts of the Apia Towship this week. What do you think about paying to park in Samoa? Our reporter, Adel Fruean, asked members of the public in today’s Street Talk and this is what they said:

The spears flew towards the youth on the hill, whistling as they cut through the air. Grinning, Queen Medb’s general drew his sword, eager to take back to his Queen the head of this warrior whom they called the Hound of Ulster. He had no doubt his spears would find their mark.